CamaCama's Family Vacation on the Escape 11/21/2015 (Detailed PICTURE Review!!!!!!)

[blueclawfan]

LOL thank you so much!! What a compliment!

 

I feel super lucky to live in FL when people post what they pay for airfare just to get here. Cruising is such an inexpensive trip for us!

 

So i called today and they said we aren't doing any upsells on your cruise yet. Try in 2 weeks

 

Thanks again

[brikee]

This is the best review ever. I will be going on a cruise in 2017 with a nearly 3 year old and one year old. The breakaway 14 day from NYC to Caribbean. We went in 2015 where our child was just over one at the time and he had so much fun in the guppy program. A parent was required for all the activities though, we couldn't drop him off. There was baby disco, toys and bubbles which he loves. Hope he will enjoy it again when we go back.

 

Are there any tips you might suggest for other parents who are bringing small kids? Like things you wish you brought or did/didn't do.

 

Thank you for your in depth review!!

Edited December 23, 2015 by brikee

[CamaCama]

Sounds like she had roseola, but glad she is much better after 24hours. It spreads easily, common in 6mo-2yr, etc. It passes pretty quickly though.

 

Yes that's what we think she had... I remember my older one having it too at this age. Just glad it passed quickly!!!

[CamaCama]

Great review!!! We'll be sailing on NCL for the first time in March 2016 with our then 4yr old. He's been on more than he's of age, but he loves it. Thanks for your review. Sorry to hear of the storm you went through. We were on a cruise Thanksgiving Day (during that same storm) going to Nassau, and I was sick. I have never gotten sick in all the cruises we've been on.

 

Oh man sorry to hear you got sick! I felt so bad for my mom that she was sick on Thanksgiving, but we were all just glad the girls didn't feel sick. Pretty safe to say they don't get seasick since they made it through that fine!

[CamaCama]

So i called today and they said we aren't doing any upsells on your cruise yet. Try in 2 weeks

 

Thanks again

 

Yes, 14 days out or less! Good luck!!!

[CamaCama]

This is the best review ever. I will be going on a cruise in 2017 with a nearly 3 year old and one year old. The breakaway 14 day from NYC to Caribbean. We went in 2015 where our child was just over one at the time and he had so much fun in the guppy program. A parent was required for all the activities though, we couldn't drop him off. There was baby disco, toys and bubbles which he loves. Hope he will enjoy it again when we go back.

 

Are there any tips you might suggest for other parents who are bringing small kids? Like things you wish you brought or did/didn't do.

 

Thank you for your in depth review!!

 

Thanks so much!! DEFINITELY bring a stroller (or 2 lol)... we forgot ours and it was needed for my 2.5 year old! For us, 5:30 reservations were too early. I thought it would be great to eat early with the girls but we ended up wanting to stay around the pool deck until 4:30/5! I don't think I would have changed anything else we did... if you have any other questions just ask!

[Bimmer09]

Jessica, thanks for such a fun, detailed review and the generous use of photos to tell your story.

 

The kids look like they had the time of their lives!

 

Glad you had a great cruise and thanks for sharing.

 

Norris

[CamaCama]

Jessica, thanks for such a fun, detailed review and the generous use of photos to tell your story.

 

The kids look like they had the time of their lives!

 

Glad you had a great cruise and thanks for sharing.

 

Norris

 

They had the best time esp my 6 year old! Thanks for taking the time to write this comment!!

[countrylakeliving]

I feel like I know you and your awesome (and beautiful) family. We are going on our first ever cruise in 25 days! I really appreciated all of your comments and photos. If we like it as much as I suspect we will, I'm quite certain our next cruise will include some of our grandkids. Thank you!!!

[CamaCama]

I feel like I know you and your awesome (and beautiful) family. We are going on our first ever cruise in 25 days! I really appreciated all of your comments and photos. If we like it as much as I suspect we will, I'm quite certain our next cruise will include some of our grandkids. Thank you!!!

 

Thanks so much, have a great time!!!!!

[MemeCruise]

Thank you so much for the detailed review, it's been very useful for us to prepare for our cruise in April, with my inlaws and 2 boys (3 and 8)! Your girls look absolutely adorable!

[Loucat]

How do you reach the upsell department? This is the first I heard of it.

Thanks!!

[Love2Cruz2015]

Your review was outstanding! It makes me want to try NCL. My DD is also 6 years old and I haven't had much luck with her and the kids clubs yet....not even on the Disney dream, I got paged after just an hour that she wanted to get picked up. Good to see your DD liked the Splash Club.

 

Beautiful pics and beautiful family...makes me look forward to my cruise this summer!

[ilovetotravel1977]

I noticed you mentioned you dropped your daughter off at Splash Academy at 7:30pm a few nights. What is the cut-off time to drop them off?

[chrcruiser]

This was absolutely the best Cruise review I have ever read. Thanks so much for posting the Freestyle Daily's and the great pictures. You have my wife and I very excited about our upcoming cruise on the Escape. BTW - those girls are precious.

[CamaCama]

Thank you so much for the detailed review, it's been very useful for us to prepare for our cruise in April, with my inlaws and 2 boys (3 and 8)! Your girls look absolutely adorable!

 

Thanks so much, enjoy!!!!!!

[CamaCama]

How do you reach the upsell department? This is the first I heard of it.

Thanks!!

 

I came across the number on here a while back and it's more talked about now, it's not connected to NCL's main reps. It's a totally separate department so even if you have a TA, they will work directly with you on an upgrade. BUT ONLY 14 days out or LESS!

 

1-800-625-4309

[CamaCama]

Your review was outstanding! It makes me want to try NCL. My DD is also 6 years old and I haven't had much luck with her and the kids clubs yet....not even on the Disney dream, I got paged after just an hour that she wanted to get picked up. Good to see your DD liked the Splash Club.

 

Beautiful pics and beautiful family...makes me look forward to my cruise this summer!

 

She loved it, begged to go. They had pillow fights, face painting, practice for the big show... they do a great job. Have fun this summer!

[CamaCama]

I noticed you mentioned you dropped your daughter off at Splash Academy at 7:30pm a few nights. What is the cut-off time to drop them off?

 

Yup you can drop off anytime between the times they are open. We dropped off once an hour after opening and they were up on the sports court so I had to drop her there and they said to come back and get her in 40 minutes back at splash academy. So, they will take them whenever, granted it's not at capacity.

[CamaCama]

This was absolutely the best Cruise review I have ever read. Thanks so much for posting the Freestyle Daily's and the great pictures. You have my wife and I very excited about our upcoming cruise on the Escape. BTW - those girls are precious.

 

Wow thank you so much for the compliments. It really takes a lot of time do these reviews and it's great hearing that. I knew there would be lots of questions and it's rare to get a full review with a family with young kids so I was hoping I could help!! Have a great time on Escape!!

[Loucat]

I came across the number on here a while back and it's more talked about now, it's not connected to NCL's main reps. It's a totally separate department so even if you have a TA, they will work directly with you on an upgrade. BUT ONLY 14 days out or LESS!

 

1-800-625-4309

 

Thanks so much for this information! I will copy and keep in my files.

[2Crewsers]

We headed to the atrium around 9am and after waiting on a short line we were off the ship about 10 minutes later. Sienna saw that penny machine while we were heading off and I quickly swiped my card and got her one...

 

 

The girls were sad to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

Bye Escape... until next time!!!

 

Great thorough review, thanks!! One question though, how long did the disembarkation process take from getting off the ship until you were on your way home? We are going in a couple weeks and are trying to figure out how much time to allow to get to MIA to rent a car.

[andriamay]

FINAL THOUGHTS

 

It was our first 7-night cruise and with a 2.5 year old it seemed just a day or two too long. My 6 year old is at the perfect age to cruise so we're thinking in a few years when both girls are older it will be MUCH easier and a little more relaxing for us. But we had an amazing time, the ship is incredible and we were very happy with the Norwegian experience overall.

 

SPLASH ACADEMY - A++++

What a great program! Sienna (6-9 group - Seals) begged to go to every session. She had the best time and made some great friends, plus the circus performance they put on at the end is such a treat for the kids and for us, they all seemed to look forward to that. Guppies seemed great too, but it should be 6 months to 2 years old (not 3 years old), the 2-3 year olds seemed much too big for that small space.

 

FOOD - A

We aren't picky and if I don't have to cook it, it's good to me! But seriously, the food in the dining rooms was great, there was good variety and the menus changed daily. The Garden Café buffet we ate at every single day for breakfast and most lunches, some dinners for the girls. We have no complaints and comparing to RCI we all agreed they might be a tiny step above but not by much. The drinks were GREAT, the beer was cold and the mixed drinks were strong, no complaints there!

 

SERVICE (food/drinks) - B

Our tables were never cleared wherever we ate, our drinks were hardly ever refilled and the drink service at the pool was inconsistent. The main dining rooms the first two night, service was very slow but after that it was fine. O'sheehans service was very slow also and we even asked the waitress "where's the busboy"? She said "I'm the busboy"... so it seems they have cut back on the busboys and extra hands to clear tables, refill drinks, etc.

 

ROOM ATTENDANT - A++++

Mike was awesome, our room was spotless and he was just so nice. Can't rave about him enough.

 

ACTIVITIES - A+

There was so much to do, we didn't even get to do it all... we didn't get to play mini golf or bowling, bingo, etc. The slides were a hit with Sienna, I don't think we could go on another cruise without slides!!! The aqua park was also so much fun for the girls and even though Sienna was too short to do the big ropes course, it was nice that they had a smaller kids version so she could do that. She loved the arcade too, it's pretty easy to win a lot of tickets and the prizes were pretty cool.

 

iCONCIERGE APP - A

Easy to use, it was free on our sailing for texting (normally 7.95 per week per phone) it worked well to keep in touch with family around the ship.

 

ROOM - A+

We just loved our balcony room, the décor and colors were great, tons of storage in the bathroom, huge shower, balcony was the perfect size, beds were super comfy!

 

SHIP DESIGN/LAYOUT - B

It's hard to believe what the people building these ships don't think about (especially when there are ships before her that have the same issues). The pool area is way too small for 4k+ people and there is no stage or open area for pool activities/contests. The atrium where the chandelier is always smelled like smoke, even when the casino wasn't open. A casino should always be enclosed, people who gamble will find it, it doesn't need to be out in the open like that stinking up that entire area and the elevators. And no, I don't think it should be non-smoking (I am not and never will be a smoker but I do think for a lot of people smoking and gambling go hand in hand and I think the casino would lose money if they did that). Other than that the ship is gorgeous, the décor is beautiful and it's pretty easy to find your way around by the 2nd day.

 

ENTERTAINMENT - A+

I only got to see one show... Brat Pack (extra charge) but it was phenomenal! So much talent, very entertaining, food was good, 100% worth the cost! My mom/in-laws saw Million Dollar Quartet and the Dueling Piano show and said both were amazing. There are also tons of bars open at night and the Skyline bar next to the casino had dancing until afte 2am... so there is always something to do.

 

PORTS/ITINERARY - A

St. Thomas and Tortola were new ports for most of us so it was fun spending those days on the local beaches. NCL should definitely add a few extra hours on Tortola, 3pm sailaway is just way too early... it's such a beautiful island we would have loved to experience more of it. We also all agreed we would have liked a sea day for the last day so a flipped itinerary would have been better, Nassau as the first stop for a few hours.

 

If I forgot something just ASK, I'll be happy to answer any questions! Overall we'd definitely recommend the Escape!

 

I just finished reading through your review and I loved it! It is nice to see a family review :). I am going on the Jan 30th with my family of five:). Thanks for all your tips you have a beautiful family.

[CamaCama]

Great thorough review, thanks!! One question though, how long did the disembarkation process take from getting off the ship until you were on your way home? We are going in a couple weeks and are trying to figure out how much time to allow to get to MIA to rent a car.

 

It was quick, probably about 30 minutes I'd say. The hardest part was finding our luggage, it was the furthest section from the exit around two corners. But other than that, very easy. On the Escape from what we experienced, there were never lines for anything, they do a great job of staggering people on embarkation and debarkation also.

[CamaCama]

I just finished reading through your review and I loved it! It is nice to see a family review :). I am going on the Jan 30th with my family of five:). Thanks for all your tips you have a beautiful family.

 

Thank you so much and have a great time!